Finding a family
by thatreaderguy
Summary: This is just a small one shot that takes place a few years after the current events of the manga. Its about a young boy who comes to join Fairy Tail and ends up running into the family of a certain pink haired dragon slayer.


**This is my first Fanfiction in well...a very long time, so if its not great please bear with me. This is just a quick One Shot, that's been rolling around in my head for a while now. I do not own Fairy Tail or any of the characters associated with it. The original Characters Ren, and Shanna are my own creations for the purpose of this work of fan fiction. please enjoy the story, review, and let me know what you think. **

**(I would also like to apologize for mix up that happened last night. I accidentally replaced this chapter, with chapter one from my other story. To anyone who read this story or tried to during that time I apologize. I also had posted an authors note about this earlier, however I forgot about the new rules that state that authors notes may not be placed as individual chapters so I updated this note in the beginning of this chapter. I once again apologize for any inconvenience or misunderstandings that this whole mess caused.)**

A young boy walked down the busy streets of Magnolia, weaving in between the people that were going about their daily lives with a seemingly never ending sense of urgency. The atmosphere that surrounded the town utterly amazed the young boy. He stared at the various types of wares being sold at the market are, looking on in wonder as people entered and left the many shops lining the sides of the road. He knew from looking at maps that Magnolia town was not very large compared to some of the other cites around the kingdom of Fiorie, but to the boy who had lived all his life up to this point in a small village with only a few small buildings it was the grandest, most mesmerizing place he could have ever imagined. Indeed everything here seemed exotic and new. The colors of the fruits and vegetables seemed brighter, more defined than the ones sold at the small market where he used to live.

The boy was so busy gawking at the sites around him that he never saw the person come running around the corner from of one of the streets, on a direct collision course with him. So when someone barreled into him knocking him over it came as a complete surprise. When he looked up he saw that the person who had run into him had also fell down and was rubbing their head in pain. It was this action that brought his attention to the bright red hair that covered the persons head. It wasn't a dark red, but a lighter hue of the color, but it was still distinctly red. When the person lifted their face to meet his gaze he noticed that the person was a girl, appearing to be roughly around ten or nine years old, around the same age as the boy himself. He also saw the girl was wearing a green shirt with dark blue shorts. It seemed that besides the brown sandals the girl wore, everything about her was bright and colorful, a stark contrast to his own appearance. He had dark brown hair, and was dressed in an equally brown shirt and pair of pants, that were just a little to long for him, covering his own pair of black sandals.

"Sorry about that." the girl said in a rather cheerful voice. "My mom is always telling me I need to pay more attention to where I'm going."

The boy had been so busy taking in the girls appearance that he almost didn't notice she had said anything.

"Ah n-no it's fine. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking either." he stammered.

"Well I won't tell anyone if you don't tell my mom" she giggled " My name's Shanna by the way. I haven't seen you around before, are you new around here?"

"My names Ren" he replied "I just got to Magnolia a while ago actually. I came here from my village so I could join the Fairy Tail guild." He stated smiling proudly.

The girls eyes widened, and her smile turned into a full blown grin

"That's great!" She all but shouted. "My parents are members of the guild, and I'm going to become one soon myself. The guilds always looking for new members."

"Really?" he asked. "I guess we'll be guild mates soon then" he said giving Shanna his own grin. "I can't wait!"

Shanna giggled at his enthusiasm.

"So what made you want to join Fairy Tail?" she asked, curious as to what brought the boy to seek entrance into the local guild.

Ren, for his part blinked a few times, before he exploded in a mixture of disbelief and excitement to talk about his reason for wanting to join the famous guild. "Are you kidding? Fairy Tail is awesome! They have all the most famous mages, and just look at all the amazing things they've done! They won the grand magic games for eleven years in row now. They defeated a lot of dark guilds and...and...they're just awesome." He faltered in his little rant when he noticed she was giggling at his speech.

"I'm sorry." she said. "I'm not laughing at you, I'm just happy to know that people think of the guild like that"

"It's okay" he said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I get pretty worked up when I talk about Fairy Tail. I've wanted to be a member for years now." They smiled at each other, and Ren was about to ask her if she could show him where the guild was exactly, when a thought struck him.

"Say Shanna? Where were you going in such a hurry when you bumped into me?"

She looked at him questioningly, having forgotten about how they met for a moment, before her eyes widened as she remembered why she had been in such a rush.

"One of the guild members came back from a mission earlier and said he saw my grandpa headed towards Magnolia, and last time I saw my dad he said he was meeting up with grandpa for mission. So that means my dad may be on his way back with him right now, so I was going to go to the edge of town to wait for them."

Ren was about to ask who her grandpa and dad were, when the area around them darkened slightly before getting brighter again. He realized that a shadow had just passed over them, thinking it was a cloud he looked up too see clear skies puzzling him. Shanna had noticed it as well it seemed, because her face was suddenly filled with barely contained excitement.

"Grandpa's here!" she shouted. She grabbed Rens hand and took off running down the street, shouting, "Come on, I'll introduce you!"

Ren couldn't find his voice to give her a reply as he was all but dragged back down the street he had been walking on in the first place. True to her earlier statement Shanna had indeed led them to the edge of town, to where a small circular knoll of trees stood. She continued to pull him through the trees into a clearing. That's when Ren saw something he never once in a million years thought he would see.

He had thought Magnolia was filled with exotic and amazing things already, but this site made everything else he'd seen that day look common, and boring, for there in front of his very eyes stood a dragon. A great big, red dragon, with huge wings, and large claws, and a tail, and everything else dragons were supposed to have. He was looking at a dragon, he couldn't believe it. Then something even stranger happened. Shanna let go of his hand and ran up to the dragon and all but tackled its face.

"Grandpa! You're back!" she shouted.

A deep rumbling voice came out of the creature as it looked at the child that was currently trying squeeze the life out of his snout.

"Hello, Shanna. It's good to see you again."

Shanna began to look around expectantly, searching for something. Failing to find what ever it was she was looking for she hung her head for a moment, looking rather down trodden.

"Did he not come back with you Grandpa? He was supposed to be back yesterday or today."

"Did who not come back?" asked a voice, causing Shanna's head to shoot up when she heard it looking for the owner of the voice. Ren too, started searching for the owner of the voice, when a man wearing black and gold pants, a matching vest, and mop of pink hair on his head walked out from around the dragon. The man's face was set in a slight smirk, as he looked down at the red headed girl.

Shanna rushed the man, jumping into the air when she was half way to him, only to be caught in his arms.

"Daddy!" she cried. "I missed you so much! I was afraid that you wouldn't be back in time."

"Oh, come on." The man said, his face gaining a large goofy smile. "You know I would never miss my little girls birthday. You're going to be ten tomorrow, That's a big day for anyone." He set Shanna back down on the ground before saying "Now why don't you introduce me and your Grandpa to your friend over there."

Shanna nodded and quickly ran over to Ren, who was still standing in awe of the fact that there was a dragon in front of him and that Shanna had called the dragon grandpa. Shanna grabbed his hand and guided him over to the man and the dragon. While she was doing so Ren took special notice of the mans pink hair. He had only ever heard of one man with pink hair, and his eyes widened at the realization of who was standing before him.

"Ren" spoke Shanna. "These are my dad and grandpa, Natsu Dragneel and Igneel. Dad, Grandpa, this is Ren. He's going to join the guild soon just like me."

looking down at the young boy Natsu smiled and said " Nice to meet you Ren."

Igneel likewise inclined his head in a nodding gesture "Well met, boy."

The impact of the information that had been thrust upon Ren overwhelmed his brain to the point where he didn't know how to react, but he also didn't want to be rude and stay silent so he willed some kind of sound to come forth from his mouth, and come forth it did. Like a river breaking through a dam, all of the thoughts in Rens head came out at once in faced paced onslaught of babble.

"Your grandpa is dragon! A real live dragon, that is so cool! He's just what I imagined a dragon to be like, hes got claws and hes so big, and he has scales, and even wings and tail. And your dad is Natsu Dragneel, the Natsu Dragneel! I've heard so many stories about him he's the strongest fire mage ever. And he uses his magic to fight all the dark guilds, and he supposed to be really cool when he uses it. His magic is all like Whoosh and Kaboom!" He said this last part with large dramatic arm gestures. Continuing his rambling speech he said "And if your Grandpa's a dragon that must mean that Natsu is the son of a dragon which makes him like one thousand times cooler than he was before! And...and...and" finally realizing just what had been coming out of his mouth Ren blushed bright red "I...I mean it's very nice to meet both of you." He stammered, trying very hard to ignore the amused looks being sent his way by the other three in the clearing.

"Don't worry Ren, I think your description was spot on! With you joining the guild, there will finally be someone who recognizes how awesome I am! I can totally rub it that strippers face too!" said Natsu, although he chuckled darkly at the last part. Ren was wondering if he should ask who the "Stripper" was when Igneel spoke again.

"Natsu, I'm heading home. It was good seeing you again." turning his head to look at Shanna he said "I'm happy to see you've grown since the last time I saw you Shanna, I cant stay for tomorrow but I wish you happy birthday just the same." Then turning last to Ren, Igneel said " It was good to meet you boy. I wish you luck in joining the guild." with that he turned away and took off into the air. Natsu and Shanna both shouting good bye to him.

Once Igneel was out of hearing range, Natsu turned toward the two children. "Alright lets get back to the guild. We'll introduce Ren to everyone and we'll see if we can't find your mother Shanna." With that statement the three headed back into the town of Magnolia, Ren walking along Shanna's right side and Natsu on her left. Once they got toward the center of the town Shanna looked over to Ren "Hey Ren, would you come to my birthday party tomorrow?"

Blinking in surprise at the question he looked back at her "Well yeah, I guess, but I don't have anything to give you" he said dejectedly.

"Ah that's okay" she chirped "Having a new friend around is a good enough gift" this statement made Ren blush slightly, not being used to such kind words or attention. Natsu, however, smirked at his daughters statement, thinking it would be good to have another kid her age for her to hang around with.

"Umm okay, Ill come then." Ren said looking down trying to hide his small blush.

Upon hearing his answer Shanna gave a cheer before looking up at Natsu. "Hey, Dad, do you think Mom will get something really good this year? She promised that I'd be able to join the guild and start training with you guys when I turned ten, so I'm wondering if she'll give me something to help me train."

"You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see." rang out a feminine voice from in front of them. Ren looked toward the direction of the voice to see a woman standing a little ways ahead of them. She was wearing a blue skirt and a metal chest plate with the Hearth Kruz symbol on it, as well as a pair of black boots. He also took notice of her red hair that was blowing slightly in the breeze.

"Hi, Mom!" Shanna said in greeting as the woman walked up to the trio.

"Hello, Shanna" the woman replied. Turning to Natsu, who had a small smile upon seeing this, woman greeted him with a smile of her own. "Hello Natsu. I'm glad you made it back from your job safely"

"Me too." he replied "I missed my two favorite girls in the whole world."

The woman's smile turned to a slight frown as she said "I heard you destroyed a rather large part of the town you were sent to Natsu. Your going to have to face your punishment for that."

This statement made Natsu sweat a little as he laughed nervously, knowing there was no way to get out of said punishment. The woman's frown turned back into a smile, however, as she reached her hand around to grab him and give him a small peck on the cheek. "That can come later though. I'm just glad to have you back for now."

Shanna blanched upon seeing her mother give her father a kiss in public. "Ewww! Mom! Were in the middle of town! No one wants to see you give Dad your cooties."

The woman gave her daughter a rather smug look and said "It was just a peck on the cheek, nothing bad. Besides one day you'll be spreading cooties of your own. Now who is this?" She asked looking over at Ren.

Ren had been staring in awe at the woman ever since she had arrived. He was taken by complete surprise when Shanna's mother had turned out to be another of Fairy Tail's most famous wizards. Erza Scarlet, the Titania, was standing in front of him. He couldn't believe that his new friend was the daughter of not just one, but two, famous and powerful wizards. His staring had continued until he heard Shana's outraged cry at her mother showing public affection. So he was better prepared to speak than last time when Shana introduced the two.

"Mom, this is Ren. He arrived in town just today. He's come to join the guild! Ren, this is my mom, Erza Scarlet Dragneel."

Ren, remembering to not act like an idiot this time gave a short greeting. "Hello, its nice to meet you." He said nothing more lest his traitorous mouth get the better of him and make him shout out random things about how awesome he thought she was.

Erza gave a polite nod toward the boy and extended her own greeting. "It's very nice to meet you Ren. I'm sure you'll make a fine addition to the guild."

The group of four continued on their way through the town, Natsu and Erza walking besides each other, talking about the details of their latest jobs (or in Natsu's case trying to avoid mentioning the destruction he caused so Erza wouldn't punish him to badly.) Shanna and Ren walked beside one another just enjoying the happy feeling that surrounded the group. When the four came to a stop in front of a large building, however, Ren immediately recognized the insignia above the door. The symbol of Fairy Tail. He couldn't believe that he was finally here, after all the years of hearing stories about the heroes this guild produced and all the amazing adventures they had, it was like a dream come true. In the light of the setting sun, the guild hall seemed to glow with the very magic and power it was so famous for. Ren's thoughts were interrupted though when Natsu spoke.

"Alright were back! Lets go greet everyone Dragneel family style!" Anyone who knew Natsu or Fairy Tail for that matter knew that he was going to go in and start a brawl.

"Yeah!" Shanna shouted in agreement.

Erza gave the two a small smile "Alright, but don't do anything to wild you two."

Natsu and Erza headed towards the door, and Shana was right behind them, she stopped though when she saw that Ren was standing still. She looked at him, as he stared at the ground in front of him, all his previous energy seemingly vanished. Running back over to him she asked "Hey whats wrong?"

Ren looked away, a little ashamed to be seen moping like he was. "It's nothing Shanna...I just realized that you and every one in the guild have families. I came here from my village to become a great mage. I grew up with out any parents in my home village. I was known there as the "orphan boy" but I thought if I became a great mage from Fairy Tail, I could leave all that behind and create a new me. No more Ren the orphan, just Ren. But with every one here having a family I'll still just be the orphan kid." He was sure she would scold him for being mopey like the adults in his village did but she just smiled, and took his hand for the third time that day.

"You silly." she said. "When I asked why you wanted to join, you gave a big list of all things that make Fairy Tail the best guild ever. But you don't even know real reason why Fairy Tail is so amazing."

At this Ren looked up at her to her giving him the biggest grin yet. "What do you mean?" he asked.

She giggled and said. "The thing that makes Fairy Tail so great is that once you join, everyone in the entire guild becomes your family! That means that your not an orphan at all! You've got the biggest family in the whole kingdom now!" It was with those words that she pulled him past her smiling parents and past the doors to the guild hall. It was with those words that she pulled him into his new life. His new family.

End

**Alright as I said, it has been Years since I have published anything on this site, so I have to relearn how to use it. I also don't have Microsoft word, so the format got changed a bit when I uploaded this. I'm see to be unable to indent my paragraphs, I tried my best to put it into readable form, but if it didn't work and I still haven't figured it out by the time you read this, I apologize. Thanks all for reading please let me know what you think in the reviews.**


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